LAPD still seeking killer of Charter Oak High School graduate

LOS ANGELES >> Los Angeles police are still looking for two men involved in the shooting death of a 2009 Charter Oak High graduate and football star.

Dejon Ward, who tied a district record with a 98-yard run while on the team, died July 12 when two men ambushed him after he pulled over near Venice and Crenshaw boulevards to check his map for directions.

“It appears that the suspects walked up to Dejon Ward as he sat in his car, seatbelted in, looking at directions and shot him,” Detective Jose Robledo said.

No evidence indicates Ward knew either man or that he was involved in any criminal activity, Robledo said.

As part of the Charter Oak football team, Ward inspired his teammates and coaches.

“He was just a happy child full of life and laughter,” said Dominic Farrar, the district’s athletic director. “He was an inspiration to all of us. What he didn’t have in physical stature, he made up with his heart and his character.”

Head Coach Lou Farrar described Ward as a having a “spring his step and a dance move for every day and every moment.”

“He made you feel good just being around him, he was always impeccably dressed, he would show up with a snow-white clean uniform,” Lou Farrar said. “It’s an indescribable loss — a senseless, senseless loss.”

Farrar said Ward’s record-tying run involved him taking a hand-off during a game against Diamond Bar and turning it “into about 120-yards of zig-zagging all over the place.”

“He never really got to live a full life, that’s the hard part,” he said.

Ward was attending Victor Valley College in Victorville with a focus on business.

Robledo hopes someone will still come forward with information about Ward’s death.

The LAPD released video last month that shows the two shooters and their vehicle, but so far no tips have led to any arrests, Robledo said.

The surveillance video shows a man exit a silver Nissan Armada and then walk out of the camera’s view. A car then circles in and then out of the frame. A second man exits the Armada and runs toward the car while appearing to reach for something tucked into the back of his waistband. Both men then immediately rush back to the Armada and speed away.

Emergency personnel declared Ward dead at the scene, he was found crashed into a building roughly a block away, Robledo said.

Anyone with information about the shooting can contact West Bureau Homicide detectives at 213-382-9370. Anonymous tips can also be made through Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-8477 or by texting 274637 the tip with “LAPD” at the start of the message.